Court Rejects Challenges to German Euro Bailouts
New York Times, GoUpstate
“The court has defined itself as the guardian of the Constitution, playing a much different role from that of the American Supreme Court,” said Donald P. Kommers, emeritus professor of political science and law at Notre Dame and author of a book on the German court.

The Justice Department is suing to prevent AT&T from acquiring T-Mobile USA and displacing Verizon as the nation’s largest wireless carrier, and antitrust expert Joseph Bauer, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, strongly supports the challenge.

“I’m pleasantly surprised, in light of reluctance on the part of the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to go after a number of other highly problematic mergers in the past 5 to 10 years,” Bauer says. “This merger would seriously reduce competition in the wireless market. By eliminating one of only four firms in the market and by creating what would be the largest entity in the industry and in which the two largest firms would have more than 80 percent of the market, the merger has the strong likelihood of diminishing consumer choice and leading to higher prices.”

The Primacy Of The Life Issue
National Right to Life News
I don’t know how long “The Public Discourse” has been in business (I discovered it about just a few months ago), but the site produces wave after way of thought-provoking pro-life material. To take the most recent example, there is “Protect the Weak and Vulnerable: The Primacy of the Life Issue” by O. Carter Snead.

The Ethics of DronesPBS
Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell:(University of Notre Dame Law School): To accept killing far from the situation of battlefields where there is an understanding of necessity is really ethically troubling for many of us.

Life News
Abortion and embryo-destructive research are profound and lethal violations of this principle of equality to which the law (and the President) must respond….[by] O. Carter Snead is professor of law at University of Notre Dame Law School. > Read Opinion

While church leaders may be startled by Google’s changes, corporations often exclude faith-based groups from their philanthropic programs or restrict who can qualify, said Lloyd Mayer, a professor at Notre Dame Law School. He said Google is “trying to avoid anything that would reflect negatively on them” by avoiding potentially polarizing causes that might alienate customers. > Read Articles

Catholic doctors’ group launches petition against contraception mandate
Catholic News Agency
Notre Dame Law School professor O. Carter Snead told CNA on Aug. 2 that the exemption fails to cover “virtually any” Catholic institution that serves or employs non-Catholics. He said the government mandate could require contraceptive coverage for the health care plans of Catholic universities and Catholic social service agencies.

A joint project between the Notre Dame Law School’s Legal Aid Clinic and the College of Arts and Letters’ Center for Children and Families will examine the effectiveness of mediation in child custody disputes—specifically the success of educational programs required by the courts and whether the type of mediation makes a difference.

Margaret Brinig, the Law School’s associate dean for faculty research, is one of the project’s principal investigators.

More single dads winning primary custody of children
Greenwich Times
“If the dad is really interested in getting custody and wants to have a relationship with his kids, he is far more successful than he was 20 years ago,” said Margaret Brinig, a family law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

IRS Buckled To GOP Pressure On Secret Donations, Lawyer Says
Huffington Post
Lloyd Mayer, who teaches tax law at the University of Notre Dame, agreed. “The worst fear of most career government servants is being drawn into the political spotlight,” he said. “The political heat got a little bit too hot, and the IRS blinked, rather than stick to its position, which I think was right.”

Wyoming enters uncharted territory with wolf deal
Casper Star-Tribune
Professor Nagle was quoted in a Casper Star-Tribune story on an agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Wyoming to remove the state’s roughly 340 wolves from the endangered species list.

A Moral Flip-Flop? Defining a War
The New York Times
Professor O’Connell was quoted in a New York Times OpEd concerning State Department Legal Adviser Harold Hongju Koh’s position on Congress’s role in the Libya conflict.

Recently international law professor Mary Ellen O’Connell of Notre Dame University said that the new reliance on drones could prompt an already militaristic superpower to fight even more wars of choice.

A joint project between the Law School’s legal aid clinic and the College of Arts and Letters’ Center for Children and Families will examine the effectiveness of mediation in child custody disputes—specifically the success of educational programs required by the courts and whether the type of mediation makes a difference.

Its scope is limited to U.S. activity where Americans are affected, as in the Noriega case, which means that prosecutors would have limited options for using RICO to pursue News Corp, said G. Robert Blakey, a University of Notre Dame law school professor who drafted the act, which became law in 1970.

In its July 2011 ruling in Flomo v. Firestone Natural Rubber Company, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit cites a law review article by Notre Dame Law Professor Doug Cassel, Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights, arguing that corporations involved in human rights violations overseas can be sued for money damages under the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCA”).

Popularity Of Drones Takes Off For Many CountriesNPR
Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor of international law at Notre Dame University, says there is a risk the U.S. is using more force than is lawfully warranted just because the new technology makes it easy.

FUF: Criticism of Obama over Drone AttacksWNYC (AP)Mary Ellen O’Connell, the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution at Notre Dame University, discusses major human rights organizations’ criticism of the Obama administration’s use of drone strikes.…

“It comes from the fact that the players allow the players’ association to license their images because it is such a huge source of money,” said Ed Edmonds, a sports law professor at Notre Dame.LA Times,…

Human Rights Defender Now Fights For U.S. Policy
That came as a surprise to Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor of international law at the University of Notre Dame who fought alongside Koh to protest a broad view of executive power that became popular during the Bush years. > NPR,WFAE 90.7 FM,Minnesota Public Radio,Georgia Public Broadcasting

High Court OKs Sales Of Violent Video Games To Kids
“The answer that we’re getting pretty clearly from a solid majority of the court is that” parental pressure, and market pressure, through labeling, are the only way to limit child access to these games, said Notre Dame law professor Richard GarnettNPRNew Hampshire Public Radio

NPRNotre Dame international law professor Mary Ellen O’Connell said the White House is playing word games. “I have no doubt that if we are using drones in Libya, armed drones, we are engaged in hostilities,” O’Connell said. > Read Article…

(CNN) — Harold Koh, legal adviser to the U.S. State Department, attempted to convince Congress on June 15 that the “limited nature” of U.S. military operations in Libya are not “hostilities” as envisioned in the War Powers Resolution, and, therefore, required no Congressional authorization.